Cedrick Zabala Flash Animation Seminar

Timing is, in essence, how long a given action lasts. Physical Timing. Correct timing makes objects appear to abide to the laws of physics. This is represented by how many frames an animator assigns to a given action.

Theatrical Timing. Less technical nature, and is developed mostly through experience. It can also be a device to communicate aspects of a character's personality.

The purpose of which is to give a sense of weight and flexibility to drawn objects.

This concept relates to how things move. More appropriately, how living, organic, non-mechanic things usually move. Arcs of motion refers to how the source of the action moves. Mnatural motions move along a curved path, or an arc, not a straight line.

The basic jist of this principle is that we add more drawings to the beginning and to the end of our sequence. In essence, the animation slowly moves into the arc, and then slowly leaves. If you observe how people move, how actions are made, you'll begin to witness slow in slow out in life. It all has to do with inertia and gravity where it takes more effort to begin or end a sequence of movements.

Now do ALL things slow in and slow out? Absolutely not! It's up to you as an animator to experiment and find out what types of actions slow in, but don't slow out. Here are a few examples:
Slow in, but don't slow out A car driving fast from a distance, but as it passes you, it whizzes by. Slow out without slowing in Someone getting ready to sneeze.

Anticipation is used to prepare the audience for an action, and to make the action appear more realistic. It's the precursor to the main action. It's like a visual hint that you give the viewer to let them know whets about to happen.

A dancer jumping off the floor has to bend his knees first; A golfer making a swing has to swing the club back first.

Its purpose is to direct the audience's attention, and make it clear what is of greatest importance in a scene; what is happening, and what is about to happen. This can be done by various means, such as the placement of a character in the frame, the use of light and shadow, and the angle and position of the camera. The essence of this principle is keeping focus on what is relevant, and avoiding unnecessary detail.

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Readability Personality Mood

"Straight ahead action" means drawing out a scene frame by frame from beginning to end. It creates a more fluid, dynamic illusion of movement, and is better for producing realistic action sequences. On the other hand, it is hard to maintain proportions, and to create exact, convincing poses along the way.

Pose to pose" involves starting with drawing a few, key frames, and then filling in the intervals later. "Pose to pose" works better for dramatic or emotional scenes, where composition and relation to the surroundings are of greater importance.

"Follow through" means that separate parts of a body will continue moving after the character has stopped. "Overlapping action" is when a character changes direction, and parts of the body continue in the direction he was previously going.

A secondary action is an action that results directly from another action. Secondary actions are important in heightening interest and adding a realistic complexity to the animation.

Exaggeration is an effect especially useful for animation, as perfect imitation of reality can look static and dull in cartoons. The level of exaggeration depends on whether one seeks realism or a particular style, like a caricature or the style of an artist. Other forms of exaggeration can involve the supernatural or surreal, alterations in the physical features of a character, or elements in the storyline itself.

Common characters in Japanese modern visual culture are characterised by a more realistic body and exaggerated facial features, in particular the large eyes.

The principle of solid or good drawing, really means that the same principles apply to an animator as to an academic artist. The drawer has to understand the basics of anatomy, composition, weight, balance, light and shadow etc.

Appeal in a cartoon character corresponds to what would be called charisma in an actor. A character who is appealing is not necessarily sympathetic villains or monsters can also be appealing the important thing is that the viewer feels the character is real and interesting.

There are several tricks for making a character connect better with the audience; for likable characters a symmetrical or particularly baby-like face tends to be effective.

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1. Timing 2. Squash and Stretch 3. Arcs 4. Slow-in and Slow-out 5. Staging 6. Anticipation 7. Straight ahead action and pose to pose 8. Follow Through and Overlapping Action 9. Secondary action 10. Exaggeration 11. Solid drawing 12. Appeal